Car-door fastener



Apr. 3,- 1923,

1 450242 J. E. BLALOCK CAR DOOR FASTENER Filed June 2, 1921 5 sheets-sheet 1 o fox J. E. HLAAUEK elite: 1x21 Apr. 3, 1923, 1,450,242

- J. E. BLYALOCK- CAR DOOR FASTENER Filed June 2, 1921 5 sheets-sheet 2 I wue n re l Apr. 3, 1923, 1,450,242

J. E. BLALOCK v CAR D'OOR FASTENER Filed Juneau 1921 :5 sheets-sheet 5 Jimmtoc Patented Apr. 3, 1923.

u rrE ST TES JOSEPH E. BLALOCK, 0F SALISBURY, NORTHCAROLINA.

can-noon FASTENER.

Application filed June 2,

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOSEPH E. BLALOCK, a citizen of the United States, residing at Salisbury, in the county of Rowan and State of North Carolina, have invented cer tain new and useful Improvements in Car- Door Fasteners, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to car door fasteners, and more specifically, to an improved locking and sealing device for a sliding door such as used on railw-ay-treight-cars.

One object is to provide an improved locking and sealing device which automatically locks and seals doors upon closing the door after a sealing strip has been properly attached thereto.

Another object is to provide an improved, yet very simple auxiliary lock or latch and a simple and easily operated means for unlocking or unlatching the door.

Another object is to provide an improved tubular track which-is weather-proof against invasion by birds such as might build their nests therein, it permitted, and cause a difiiculty in moving the door along the track.

Other objects and advantages will be pointed out or implied in the following details of description in connection with the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is an elevation illustrating a portion of a car embodying my improved car door fastener and track, portions being broken away to disclose other portions, the

door being open. I

Fig. 2 is a view somewhat similar to Fig. 1, but the door being closed, a portion of the unlocking or unlatching lever being broken ofl.

Fig. 3 is a sectional view along the line 5-5 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a horizontal sectional view along construction, combination and arrangement 1921. Serial No. 474,538.

of parts as will now be fully described as follows.

The reference character 1 generally indicates the side of a car which hasa dooropening or frame 2. A tubular track 3 is secured to the car by means-of bolts 1, and the ends of this tubular track 'areclosed by blocks 5 through which certain of the bolts 4- extend, thereby closing the ends of the tubular track for preventing rain, snow, hail and other foreign matter from entering the track. This track is formed with a slot "6, and on opposite sides of this slot a pair of; flanges 7 provide ways or track elements on which a pair of rollers 8 travel, theserollers being pivoted or journaled, in pairs, on opposite sides of hangers 9 which are bolted or otherwise secured to a door 10 which is adapted to close the door-opening 2. An upright beam 11 extends down from one end of the track 3 and provides an abutment to limit the opening movement of the door, and a tongue or clip 12 of spring metal is secured on the beam '11 and presses against the outer'surface of the door to frictionally hold it against closing when it is in its fully open position.

An upright beam 13 extends down from the other end of the track 3 and provides an abutment for limiting the closing move-.

ment of the door. The-beams 11 and 13 are secured to the car by any appropriate means (not shown) and a guide rail 14: has its ends bolted or otherwise secured to the lower ends of these upright beams. Moreover, brackets 15 are secured to the car and to theguide-r'ail 13 for holding the latter in spacedrelation to the side of the car.

The locking and sealing mechanism will now be described as followsi A plate 16 is bolted or otherwise secured to the beam 13, and this plate is provided with horizontal projections or lugs 17 and 18 which are provided with openings .19 and 20. Moreover, the plate 16 is provided with a pair of bearings 21 through which a plunger 22 is mounted to reciprocate up and down. It is to be understood that the elements 17 1 8 and 21 may be either formed integrally with the plate 16 or secured thereto" by any appropriate means. The plunge'r 22 has a collar 'or'spring-s'eat 23 secured thereto, and aspring 24 is compressed between the spring-seat 23 and the lower bearin 2-1, so

that it continually presses the plunger 22 upward. A seal holder 25 is secured on the plate 16. being preferably pivoted as indicated at 26, and any appropriate means may be employed for limiting the rotary movement of the seal holder upon its pivot. This seal holder, as best shown in Figs. 5 and (5, is provided with an aperture 26 through which the pivot 26 extends, and is also provided with an upwardly and inwardly extending flange 26 which engages with an outwardly extending flange 27 of the sealing strip 28. This sealing strip is of a well known type and includes a shoulder 28 which engages with a spring catch 28 when the seal is closed, and the, seal cannot be opened without breaking it. A shoulder 28 of the sealing strip rests against the lower end of plunger 22 while the adjacent portion of the strip 28 clamped in the bifurcated lower end of the plunger 22. One of the furcations of the plunger 22 is indicated at 22, Fig. 5, and the slot between these furcations, which receives the strip 28, is indicated at 22 in Fig. 3.

A keeper 29 is provided with a slot or aperture 29 which is vertically alined with the plunger 22 when the door is closed, this keeper being secured on the door by bolts or other appropriate means. A lever 30 is pivoted to the plunger 22 at 31, and pivoted to the beam 13 at 32. This lever is preferably in the form of a bell-crank, and is actuated by means of a plate or pusher 33 for thrusting the plunger 22 downward, upon closing the door. The upper and lower ends of a casing 34. fits snugly about the upper and lower bearings 21 and protect the spring 24.

The operation of the device, as thus far described, is as follows.

Preparatory to closing and sealing the door, the operator first inserts the flange 27 in the holder 25, next inserts the portion adjacent to the shoulder 28 in the slot 22 or between the furcations 22, with the shoulder 28 in position to enter the hollow'element which contains the catch 28, and then pushes the door leftward so that its pusher 33 swings the lever 30 so as to thrust the plunger 22 downward through the slot 29", thereby pushing the shoulder 28 into e11- gagement with the catch 28 As the door closes, the keeper 29 enters and projects through the apertured lug 17 and passes by the end portion of the strip 28 which is seated in the holder 25; and therefore, when the plunger 22 carries the other end of the sealing strip through the openings 20 and 29*, it loops the sealing strip around the material at one side of each of these openings, thereby sealing the door. 1

The reaction of the spring 24, after the closing of the door tends to open the door, acting through the medium of the plunger 22 offset this tendency to open the door, I provide a spring pressed bolt 35 which extends through a bolt-seat 36 in the wall 1 of the car. An apertured plate 37 is secured to said wall and comprises a portion of the boltseat or bearing. A yoke 38 also comprises a portion of this bolt-seat, being provided with an aperture 39 through which the inner end of the bolt extends. The bolt 35 is provided with a shoulder, preferably having a washer fitted thereon, and a spring 40 is compressed between said washer and yoke so as to continually press the bolt 35 outward. The elements 35 to 40 inclusive constitute a supplemental or auxiliary locking device. A lever 4:1 is fulcrumed or pivoted in bearing 42 on the car-door l0, and the lower end of the lever 41 is preferably bent outward for convenience in quickly and easily grasping this lever or handle of the lever so as to swing its upper arm ll inward against the bolt 35 for pressing it out of its locking engagement with the door 10. A metal strip 43 is secured on the inner surface of the door by any appropriate means (not shown), and this strip serves as a track which slides against the bolt 35 when the door is being closed and opened, thereby holding the bolt depressed or in its effective position. However, as soon as the door leaves its fully closed position, the spring 40 presses the bolt 35 outward against the rear end of the door and effectually prevents opening of the door until it is depressed. The bolt 35 may be depressed by pulling the lower end of the lever 41 outward and up ward, so that its upper end presses the bolt 35 inward. As soon as the door is released from the bolt 35, the spring 24 pushes or assists in pushing the door open in the manner previously explained. The looking or bolting mechanism which includes the bolt 35 is preferably located between two uprights 44 and 45 which support the wall 1. adjacent to the door opening.

A handle 46 may be provided on the. door for convenience in opening and closing.

It is not intended to limit this invention to the exact details of construction and arrangement as here illustrated, but changes may be made within the scope of the inventive ideas as implied and claimed.

What I claim is:

l. The combination of a door, an apertured keeper therefor, a sealing mechanism adjacent to the door opening and including a plunger movable through said keeper, said sealing mechanism being formed with an opening through which said keeper projects when the door is closed, a holder for a sealing strip, and means on the door to actuate said plunger and cause it to co-act with said holder for looping and locking the sealing strip through said keeper.

lever 30 and pusher 33; and in order to 2. The combination with a car door and its frame, of a lock comprising a plunger held to said frame, a spring normally pressing said plunger upward, a keeper held to said door having a slot vertically aligned with said plunger, a pivoted bell crank slidably held to said plunger, a pair of apertured lugs held to said frame below said plunger, said keeper arranged to pass through said apertures, and a push plate held to said door for engagement with said bell crank for holding said door in locked condition.

3. The combination with a car door and its frame, of a lock comprising a plunger held to said frame, a spring normally pressing said plunger upward, a keeper held to said door having a slot vertically aligned with said plunger, a pivoted bell crank slidably held to said plunger, a pair of apertured lugs held to said frame below said plunger, said keeper arranged to pass through said apertures, a seal holder pivoted below said plunger having an outstanding flange, a sealing strip arranged to be held by said holder and said flange for looping and locking said strip through said keeper, and a push plate held to said door, as and for the purpose set-forth.

4. In combination with a car door, of a housing, a plunger vertically reciprocating in said housing said plunger projecting beyond the ends of said housing, a spring in said housing to normally force said plunger upward, a keeper fixed to said door arranged to be engaged by said plunger, and a bell crank held to said plunger, said spring and bell crank being adapted to cushion the closing of said door and assist in opening the door.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature.

' JOSEPH E. BLALOCK. 

